Global: U. of California Professor Faces Trial in Turkey

How American colleges are hooked on Saudi money; North Korea expels a graduate student as a spy; India may allow foreign branch campuses; and more. [Global] Hi, I’m Karin Fischer, an international-education reporter, and here’s the news I’m following this week: California Professor Faces Trial in Turkey A University of California at Davis professor faces a [trial in Turkey]( for signing a petition protesting the Turkish military’s treatment of Kurdish residents. Baki Tezcan, an associate professor of history, is the first American academic to be indicted for signing a January 2016 petition accusing the Turkish military of engaging in a “deliberate and planned massacre” of Kurdish residents. He was taken in for questioning by security officials and charged in late June, when he landed in Istanbul for a research trip. Already, some 200 signatories have been tried for spreading what the Turkish government calls propaganda. Tezcan’s trial will be later this month. ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( Hooked on Saudi Money? Saudi Arabia funds academic research, pays American colleges to train its security forces, and sends more students to study in the United States than all but three other countries. In other words, Saudi money is pervasive in American higher education. From 2012 to 2018, $650 million went to American institutions, from research powerhouses like MIT to regional public institutions like Eastern Washington University. In The New York Times, Michael Sokolove takes a look at why American colleges are [hooked on Saudi money,]( even when it comes with political complications. For more background, I recommend this Steven Johnson [piece.]( Released Student Accused of Spying North Korean officials say that a graduate student they expelled was a spy who’d been [“caught red-handed.”]( Alek Sigley, an Australian graduate student in Korean literature at Kim Il-sung University, in Pyongyang, was freed last Thursday after several weeks’ detention. North Korean authorities said that Sigley had admitted to “systematically” collecting information about the isolated country and committing “incitement” against the government. On Twitter, Sigley [denied the charges.]( India Considers Foreign Branch Campuses With its young, growing population and potential for academic and research partnerships, India has long been high on colleges’ list for international collaboration. But foreign universities have never been permitted to open campuses there. That could change now: An expert panel is recommending that “select” overseas institutions be [allowed to open sites in India,]( as part of a broader plan to reform higher education. Only those ranked among the top 200 globally, however, would be able to do so. A Revived Agent Debate in International Recruiting When the National Association for College Admission Counseling revised its policies, in 2013, to permit the use of commission-based agents in international recruiting, many observers thought it would open the floodgates to the practice. Instead, the group’s own data show only modest growth in the use of paid recruiters in the past decade. Why? Some admissions officials are in the “never agents” camp, ethically opposed to paying commissions. Others might not have felt the need to change their approach amid a healthy interest from international students. But according to a new NACAC survey, a quarter of the association’s member colleges that responded to the survey are now “actively considering” using agents. Will slowing international enrollments be the catalyst that shifts overseas-recruitment practices, whether that’s using agents or other innovations? You can read more in [latitude(s),]( my weekly newsletter on international education. Chronicle Top Reads [Campuses Are Short on Mental-Health Counselors. But They’ve Got Plenty of Antidepressants.]( By Lily Jackson The average wait for a first-time appointment among all college counseling centers is about seven business days, according to a report by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors. On many campuses, the path to a prescription is simpler. (PREMIUM) [What’s Wrong With Higher Education? A Lack of Purpose]( By Richard D. Legon Colleges assume that the public dislikes them because it doesn’t know them. It’s not that simple. (PREMIUM) [The Tyranny of Trendy Ideas]( By Chris Fleming Academics pretend to be above cheap and trivial fads. We aren’t. (PREMIUM) [Financier Charged With Sex Trafficking Has Given Millions to Harvard]( By Grace Elletson The university declined to comment on whether it plans to return any of the donations given by Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged on Saturday with sex trafficking. [Scholars Push Back on Holocaust Museum’s Rejection of Historical Analogy]( By Liam Knox Hundreds of academics have signed an open letter calling the museum’s condemnation of Holocaust comparisons “a radical position that is far removed from mainstream scholarship.” Paid for and Created by University of Birmingham [Are Invisible Plastics Worse?]( Visible plastic pollution in our oceans has garnered media attention and public worry, but microplastics are now abundant in our ecosystem and may pose direct threats to human health and the ecosystem. Subscribe Today Without premium access, you are missing critical reporting and analysis on the news, policies, and controversies that are shaping the academic landscape. 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